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Kings hire Rockets assistant Mahmoud Abdelfattah as new coach

Mahmoud Abdelfattah will replace Chase Buford as the new coach of Sydney Kings Christian Inoferio/NBAE via Getty Images

The Sydney Kings have hired Mahmoud Abdelfattah as their next head coach, the team announced on Wednesday.

The Palestinian-American will fill the vacancy left by Chase Buford, who led the franchise to back-to-back NBL Championships.

Abdelfattah, who signed a two-year deal, was most recently an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets. Prior to his stint with the Rockets, Abdelfattah spent three seasons as head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, winning both an NBA G-League Championship and the league's Coach of the Year award in 2022.

"To get the opportunity to coach the Kings, on the back of their amazing track record over the past few seasons, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is amazing," Abdelfattah, 34, said.

"After speaking with both Chase [Buford] and Will [Weaver], both loved their experience in Sydney and raved about how phenomenal the organisation is, it felt like the perfect next step in my career.

"Honestly, outside of the U.S., the NBL is the league that most resembles the NBA, in terms of style and developmental systems - which is important to me, as I want all players to fulfil their potential, be that Australia or taking the next step to the NBA."

Abdelfattah is the first ever Palestinian, and first ever Muslim, to be the head coach of an NBA or NBA G-League franchise.

"I believe that to be successful, not only did someone need the basketball chops to win a championship, an innate sense of curiosity and adventure to really embrace both the professional and personal aspects of life in Sydney on a year-round basis was critical," Kings chairman and co-owner Paul Smith said.

"Not only is Mahmoud clearly an outstanding coach, but he demonstrated an enormous appetite to discover and embrace the notion of coaching in the NBL and the cultural diversity that is the hallmark of our city.

"His candidacy to be the head coach of the Sydney Kings was outstanding."

The Kings have brought back Shaun Bruce, Dejan Vasiljevic, Angus Glover, Kouat Noi, Jaylin Galloway, and Jordan Hunter as contracted players from their 2022-23 title campaign, and have added import D.J. Hogg and locals Jonah Bolden and Makuach Maluach this off-season.

The Kings had the highest pace of any team over the 2022-23 season under Buford, and Abdelfattah indicated that his roster - which still has two import spots to fill, including a point guard - will play a similar style.

"Mahmoud has a long-standing history in basketball with experience at every level," Kings CEO Chris Pongrass said.

"A remarkable basketball mind, he sees the game differently to others - he is creative and innovative from an on-court, tactical sense, and has a strong background in player development.

"As a leader, Mahmoud has proven success and we received an outpouring of support from players and colleagues.

During his title-winning season as head coach of the Vipers, Abdelfattah's team was No. 1 in the G-League in pace (110.2), and had the highest offensive efficiency (123.0 points per 100 possessions), according to RealGM.

"I'll be letting our guys play with a lot of freedom on the offensive end, allowing them to use their talents while putting them in positions to succeed," said Abdelfattah, who plans to arrive in Sydney after the 2023 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

"We will be playing with a high tempo, that pushes the ball up the floor. We've got some great, versatile players already on the roster and I can't wait to start working with them on the court."

Abdelfattah is expected to arrive in Sydney after the 2023 NBA Summer League.